Age of Discovery

Age of Discovery, the 8th EverQuest II expansion, was announced at Fan Faire 2011. It is to be an expansion more of features than content. It launched on December 6, 2011. Game Update 62 (Freeport Reborn) also launched the same day as this expansion, featuring a revamp of the City of Freeport.

Webcast Information

The following information is from the Age of Discovery press tour and the 11/29/2011 webcast.

The new max AA limit will be 320.

Launch date is December 6, 2011.

"Pretty much everyone" (who signed the NDA) will be allowed into beta shortly before launch.

Mercenaries will have a initial fee then an upkeep fee that scales to your level (exact cost still being tweaked).

"Elite Mercenaries" with unique character models can be found out in the world.

Dungeon Maker "adventurers" (the characters you play in these dungeons in) will not be player character races.

Beastlord warders have families; one family mentioned in the avian family and there's one duck in the world that can be found for it.

Pre-Order Information

NOTE: Age of Discovery will not be available for pre-order in the Station Cash Marketplace. If will appear in the Marketplace on Launch day. [1]

Digital Collector's Edition

The Digitial Collector's Edition is a Station Exclusive and is specially priced at $59.99 for pre-order only. This version includes the base game, a Cloak of the Truespirit, Dungeon Maker Unique Monster Spawner #1, Dungeon Maker Unique Monster Spawner #2, Armored Flying Pegasus Mount, Unique Beastlord Warder Pet, Lavastorm Prestige Home, Custom Dungeon Maker Map Layout, and a Robe of the True Spirit. New accounts will also receive a free 30-day subscription.

Please note that after the pre-order period ends, the price of the Digital Collector's Edition will increase to $89.99.

Standard Digital Edition

The Standard Digitial Edition includes the base game, a Cloak of the Truespirit, and a Dungeon Maker Unique Monster Spawner #1. New accounts will also receive a free 30-day subscription. The cost for the Standard Digital Edition is $39.99.

Pre-Order Gallery

Released during the November 10, 2011 webschat, these are pictures of the pre-order bonus items. Click any picture for a bigger version.

Announced Features

Tradeskill Apprentices: Train them up over time and they can "make really cool items that you can't get any other way" that will be Heirloom.[2]

Item Reforging: Players will be able to shift stats on items to something they like. They can also change particle effects on weapons with existing effects.[3]

Mercenaries: Hire a mercenary that takes up a group slot, has a monetary fee and takes a small slice of experience and coin from fighting. They are varied and have different AIs based on racial characteristics that will make them behave differently in combat. You can customize their appearance with armor, set their gender and their actual look as well as even teach them phrases to say. They can all be collected (though city alignment may restrict access to some) but only one mercenary can be in use at a time.[5]

World Lore Mercenaries: In-game lore characters (example given was Lucan) that are extremely expensive, exceedingly rare spawns found randomly around the world and are very powerful, but may decide to hang out with you until they get bored and leave.[6]

Beastlords: Scouts that rely heavily on their warder pets but use Brawler armor with scout stats. The warders will have their own AAs (panel Q&A revealed that other pets will not get this treatment) and their own hotbar. The Beastlord and Warder will work in synergy which we are told is a completely new and immersive style of gameplay. Beastlords will be fully itemized and is already in progress.[7]

Design Your Own Dungeon: You can choose to be a Builder or a Player. Builders have to acquire the items for building the dungeon out in the world through gameplay such as maps, spawners and decor. The interface is an advanced housing interface which is expected to be applied in the future to normal housing. The finished dungeons can be tested first with NPC invaders and then published for players to enjoy. Players will collect adventurers out in the world through gameplay and play them akin to arena champions in the dungeons. When a Build Your Own Dungeon adventuring run is finished, the players will be awarded tokens based on the difficulty level set by the game as well as any other possible rewards.[8]

Beta Registration

Click the link above, sign in with your Station Account, complete the application process, and your application will go into the queue for approval. Please be sure to read and accept the NDA. All applicants must have accepted the NDA in order to be considered for participation. All applicants will receive an email to confirm that their application was received.[9]

Applications will be reviewed starting on October 27th. Beta acceptance emails will go out between October 27th and November 16th. Closed Beta will close on November 14th. Players who are approved for Closed Beta will receive an email informing them of their acceptance, so please confirm that we have your correct email address during the registration process.[10]

Please remember that registering for the Beta does not guarantee admittance. Approved registrants will be put into the pool from which we will randomly select participants.[11]

Fan Faire 2011 Attendees

If you attended Fan Faire 2011, you will be admitted into the Beta program. However, you must still register and accept the NDA. Please make sure that you click the link above and register with the account that you used to register for Fan Faire.[12]

Eligibility

To be eligible to participate in the Age of Discovery Beta test, players must have an active EQII subscription in good standing and accept the Terms of Use, End User License Agreement and Non-Disclosure Agreement provided at the registration site.[13]

Access

In order to access the Beta server, an EQ2X subscription is required, and one will be applied to your account as needed if you are accepted into the Beta program. In order to allow both EQII and EQ2X players access to the Beta server and give us the most feedback possible, we've set the Beta server up in a way that can be accessed by players with both types of accounts. The subscription added to your account (if needed) is free and has no bearing on your existing EQII subscription.[14]

Press

EverQuest II Age of Discovery is the eighth expansion for the critically acclaimed EverQuest II franchise and follows the best-selling Destiny of Velious expansion.

Ever wanted to build your own dungeon? Now you can, with the Dungeon Maker system! Locate and collect a variety of floor layouts and styles, decorate your dungeon, select monsters to fill it, and then watch adventurers battle through the content you designed to win new rewards![15]

At last, the Beastlord class returns to Norrath. Seek out new animals throughout the world to train as your warder pet. Work with your warder to build up your strengths and exploit your enemies' weaknesses. In the Age of Discovery, Beastlords will walk the lands of Norrath once again![16]